Florida’s Alafia River Rendezvous

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One of my sons pointed out to me that this weekend was the Alafia River Rendezvous in Polk County, Florida. Neither of us had heard about it before and so we decided to check it out, along with my daughter-in-law and my other son.

The Rendezvous is hosted by the Florida Frontiersmen and has just completed its 53rd annual meeting. According to their website description, “Take a trip back in time. Come see a living portrayal of pre-1840 America. It has approximately 1400 participants who are dressed in clothing and staying in tents and shelters that would have been seen in pre-1840 America. Visitors will enjoy a program of music, games, and see artisans demonstrating crafts such as flint knapping, broom making, blacksmithing, soap making, weaving and more. There will be vendors for food and pre-1840 merchandise for sale.”

This description fairly accurately described the event. The Rendezvous actually lasts for twelve days, but the general public is only allowed onto the grounds during the final two days. The Florida Frontiersmen have about 170 acres of land on which they host monthly meetings which include archery and black-powder rifle competitions.

Google Earth aerial photo of the Florida Frontiersmen 170-acre property.

For the Rendezvous, people from all over the country who are interested in pre-1840 American history gather to role-play that time period together. It was my distinct impression that the event was really a time for them to do their thing and the invitation to visitors to come in was just an add-on. Not that anyone was rude or unwelcoming… you just definitely get the vibe that the participants are really into this role-playing and enjoy the primitive way of life, wares, food, crafts, etc.

I am comparing this to other historic recreation events or sites that I’ve visited. Places like Colonial Williamsburg, our own Pioneer Village in Kissimmee, even some of the Renaissance Festivals I’ve attended are very much focused on the visitor experience with a mind to help the visitor understand the history, or just to engage themselves in the setting and apparatus of the place.

This Rendezvous seemed more of an event built around and for the participants themselves and the visitors definitely seemed out of place – not unwelcome – but still out of place. It reminded me of what little I know (because I’ve never actually participated in one) of a cosplay-type convention, like a Comic Con or SciFi convention, in which people of shared interests get together to celebrate their shared fascination and knowledge of a topic. Generally, people who aren’t really into that sort of thing just don’t go to a convention, but if you were to drop into one by chance just to see what they did, that’s how I feel this Rendezvous looked.

The Rendezvous name is a nod to the tradition of holding a Rendezvous of mountain men or trappers in the early 1800’s. You can see a description at Rocky Mountain Rendezvous.

I don’t think that I would choose to go to another of these events, but I did accomplish my purpose in going – to reflect on what they do and think about if there is anything that I might suggest incorporating into the historical interpretive work and events that I help provide through Osceola History and Pioneer Village.

Here are a few pictures and comments from my visit to the Rendezvous.

There were two main “streets” of vendor tents. Wares being sold were all supposed to mimic pre-1840s-type merchandise.
All the tents for merchandise, food, demonstrations, and even camping were similar to this one, made of durable white canvas and supported with poles and ropes held in the ground by heavy iron stakes.
Wares were made from various textiles, wood, stone, iron, tin, and wax.
There was a surprising number of animal skins, skulls, bones, etc. on display and for sale.
This is Don Saba, local historian, talking with us about Florida history.
As I said earlier, the participants (as opposed to the outside visitors) are really into the whole cosplay idea of the event.
There is a very large black-powder rifle range there. Outside visitors were not allowed beyond the fence. The range is only for those who are members of the Frontiersmen or Rendezvous who have their black powder firearms certifications.
This blacksmith was making the heavy tent stakes from iron blanks. The bellows above was interesting in its design in that it blows when the cord is pulled (moving the bag upward) and then gravity causes the bag to continue blowing as it lowers again.
This demonstration tent had a beehive shaped oven in which bread was baking. Notice the red “Living History Stop” sign which were useful in identifying where specific crafts were being demonstrated.
We saw three different musical groups. These three were playing a couple of dulcimers and a guitar.
This was back in the primitive campsite area. This particular gentleman (red-shirt) was teaching his teen-age son how to operate a small forge and shape iron (and follow safety protocols!)
This group played two violins, a banjo, and a string bass.
Here a cypress canoe was on display with the tools used to carve.
The Seminoles had an extensive display of items.
The last musical group we saw were playing a saw, a banjo, a mandolin, and a harmonica.

The Rendezvous website listed above has the detailed requirements for participants, venders, archers, and riflemen.

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